The answer: Whoever is collecting the largest portion of the economic rents. From the most valuable asset in the world. The Land.

Across history the class of rent taker has been the same. The landlord. Their common name has changed and their identity has been obscured the more time goes on.

Today, the de facto Landlord is commonly called a banker. Allow me to show you how:

Chattel Slavery
Before land was fully enclosed (free land still existed) rent used to be collected very directly by owning the bodies of people, forcing them to do your work for you on pain of death. For example Egypt, Rome or the USofA. Forced imprisonment of labour was the only way to get the unearned income.Free people would otherwise run to the free land. A very costly form of slavery as the owner of private property in their bodies had to keep them fed, clothed, in a condition well enough to work and sheltered, not to mention capturing them and keeping them chained up. Chattel slavery.

Wage Slavery
While commerce was still mostly agricultural but land had become enclosed there was no need to own the bodies of people any more. There was no more free land worth working to run to. Excellent! All land was then rented by the Landlord explicitly. All that was required was a bigger army and conquest or appropriation to secure private property in the land, protected by the full force of the law. The rack rented tenant (now a debtor from birth) could easilly see from whence the lash still though. But it cost far less to free the slaves and charge them maximum rent, than to keep their bodies up in working condition. Let them pay for that. Slavery had become cheaper. Wage slavery.

Debt Slavery
As industry proceeded and human rights evolved it became necessary to obscure the destination of the rent and the identity of the rent taking parasites. This was achieved by making land capital, by Marx foolishly and then reinforced by the Chicago school. Astonishingly left and right working in harmony, both keen to enslave the bodies of the people for the “Greater Good”. And thus using the actual people’s money to fully obscure the most insidious form of economic corruption in civilisation. The Corruption of Economics. Rent became mortgage interest, money as debt, making it appear to be fair play. Debt slavery.

Perfect! This is where we are today. We seem to be at a another watershed though. Where will it go next? So far each iteration has increased the wealth divide at each economic hypercycle.

Today we dont use the word slaves anymore. Its too obvious. We call them employees.

I only wish the money and land reformers would wake up to these observed facts.

Then we might at last be able to unite and proceed towards justice with confidence.
Posted by Robin Smith at 22:33